Yes, scratching the soundboard is a risk with a pin vise (or vice in British English), because it will probably have a knurled knob. Beyond that, it is desirable when enlarging the hole to follow the direction of the original hole, which is likely to be very nearly parallel to the plane of the soundboard. The pin vises I have seen are too large in diameter to allow you to achieve the correct angle.
A quarter-inch dowel will allow you to enter the existing hole at a point down to one-eighth inch above the soundboard and still proceed parallel to it. Daniel -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Martin Shepherd Sent: 19 August, 2015 10:49 To: [email protected] Subject: [LUTE] Re: Widening holes at bridge Hi All, I recommend Daniel's solution with a piece of dowel, because the pin vice may be too thick to allow you to rotate it without contacting the soundboard (if you have enough room, fine, but put a piece of masking tape on the soundboard first so if you do make contact you don't scratch it). The drill needs to be comfortably larger than the string you intend to use. Please, luthiers, drill your holes big enough in the first place! Pegs are not such a worry as enlarging the holes is not so difficult and it can be inconvenient if the holes are too large for the string you're using. Best wishes, Martin --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
